Italian infinitive or gerund? Quiz & Podcast.

Let’s review the Italian infinitive – infinito – and the difference with the gerund – gerundio. Quiz and premium Podcast.

Ciao a tutti.

We know that the infinito is the basic form of Italian verbs, ending in -are (mangiare – to eat) -ere (leggere – to read) -ire (dormire – to sleep). In some rare cases, we have the form -rre (produrre, sedurre, addurre, tradurre, porre etc.).

Mi dispiace è tardi. Devo andare.

I miei figli vogliono leggerel’ultimo libro di Harry Potter.

Federico non sa guidare la moto.

PODCAST

Non fumare, ti fa male.

Dario, non dire bugie!

PODCAST

It has two tenses: simple and compund, introducing different actions in time

Prima di mangiare mi lavo le mani.

Dopo avere mangiato, guardo la televisione.

PODCAST

With prepositions such as prima di (before) dopo (after) we use the infinito, not the gerundio.

Infinito VS Gerundio

This is where English speakers get confused. Italians use the infinitive when English speakers can use the gerund. To be honest, the exact same confusion is common among Italian speakers learning English.

When should we use the Infinitive instead of the gerund in Italian?

The Italian gerundio does not have the same exact functions of the English gerund.

It describes HOW another action takes place…

Studio l’italiano ascoltando la radio. I study Italian by listening to the radio.

Eating well is important for your health -> Mangiare bene è importante per la tua salute.

John enjoys swimming -> A John piace nuotare.

PODCAST

That’s valid also with some verbs you can normally use in combination with the English gerund. We use the infinito, simple or compound, with or without a preposition in between. Let’s see some examples.

L’insegnante ha continuato a parlare. -> The teacher continued talking.

Ci divertiamo a passeggiare-> We enjoy walking.

PODCAST

So, In Italian we use the Gerundio only to describe how another action takes place or what is/was going on, as a continuos tense. Other that that, we use the infinitive when you normally use the Gerund in English. Let’s practice with the quiz. Alla prossima!

In RED your errors.

In RED your errors.

About the author

Riccardo Cristiani

Head Teacher at Dante Learning, I was born in Milan, where I graduated in Italian Language and Literature at the "Università degli Studi". I started to teach Italian online in Japan back in 2003, well before the Skype era. I usually spend my winters in Tokyo and come back to Italy after the cherry blossoms lose their petals.